Rational Security on the E.R.: The “Everything Old is New Again” Edition

America’s longest war stumbles into its next phase.

August 24, 2017, 12:37 PM

German Chancellor Angela Merkel greets US President Donald Trump prior to the start of the first working session of the G20 meeting in Hamburg, northern Germany, on July 7.
Leaders of the world's top economies will gather from July 7 to 8, 2017 in Germany for likely the stormiest G20 summit in years, with disagreements ranging from wars to climate change and global trade. / AFP PHOTO / POOL / IAN LANGSDON (Photo credit should read IAN LANGSDON/AFP/Getty Images)

On this week’s episode of Rational Security on The E.R., President Trump unveils his plan for Afghanistan. Cyber Command gets a boost. And Steve Bannon is out at the White House. Plus, we’re getting all kinds of schwag. And Shane makes a family visit.

Benjamin Wittes is editor in chief of Lawfare and a senior fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution. He is the author of several books and is co-chair of the Hoover Institution’s Working Group on National Security, Technology, and Law. Follow him on Twitter: @benjaminwittes.

Susan Hennessey is managing editor of Lawfare and general counsel of the Lawfare Institute. She is a Brookings fellow in national security law. Prior to joining Brookings, she was an attorney in the Office of General Counsel of the National Security Agency. She is a graduate of Harvard Law School and the University of California, Los Angeles. Follow her on Twitter: @Susan_Hennessey.

Shane Harris is the host of Rational Security and a senior writer on national security at the Wall Street Journal. Follow him on Twitter: @shaneharris.

Tamara Cofman Wittes is a senior fellow and director of the Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution, a contributor to Foreign Policy’s Shadow Government blog and a co-host of Rational Security. Wittes served as the deputy assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs from 2009 to 2012. She also oversaw the Middle East Partnership Initiative and served as the deputy special coordinator for Middle East transitions, organizing the U.S. government’s response to the Arab awakening. She is the author of Freedom’s Unsteady March: America’s Role in Building Arab Democracy and edited How Israelis and Palestinians Negotiate: A Cross-Cultural Analysis of the Oslo Peace Process. She serves on the board of the National Democratic Institute. Follow her on Twitter: @tcwittes.